Lesson 11: Continuing Your Development

Completing this course is only the beginning of your development as an organist. In this final lesson, you will learn how to continue strengthening your skills, building confidence, and serving effectively through sacred music. The principles taught throughout this course are to guide your continued growth as you support congregational worship and help others increase their faith in Jesus Christ through your organ playing.

As you continue serving as an organist, focus on steadily strengthening the foundational skills taught throughout this course by continuing to review previous lessons and techniques. Continued growth comes from consistent, thoughtful practice over time.

Continue developing your ability to:

• • Play with clean independence of line

  • Confidently lead a congregation in worship

  • Play at inspiring and engaging tempos

  • Use registration thoughtfully

  • Execute musical phrasing

  • Play prelude and postlude music sensitively

  • Play the pedals fluently

  • Simplify when needed

  • Play with musical sensitivity and expressiveness

These principles work together to help you support worship effectively. Remember that continued technical development is a vital tool that enables you to strengthen the congregation and support meaningful worship through sacred music.

A balanced practice routine will help you continue progressing steadily over time. One helpful approach is to divide your practice into three general categories:

Technical Development

Continue strengthening your coordination, legato technique, pedal technique, independence of line, and overall control at the organ.

Upcoming Service Preparation

Prepare carefully for upcoming worship services; focus on tempo, phrasing, fingering, pedaling, registration, and the ability to provide confident leadership. Select, register, and time your prelude and postlude music. Strive to continue building a repertoire of sacred music for worship services.

Creative Exploration

Consider dedicating some time to exploring skills and techniques outside the scope of this course that could be used to further enhance worship services, such as music theory, modulation, improvisation, transposition, accompaniment skills, or other areas that interest you musically.

Consistent daily practice, even in shorter amounts, is far more effective than occasional long practice sessions.

One of the best ways to continue growing is to work consistently with the hymns themselves. The hymnbook provides an excellent source of material for developing organ technique, musical understanding, and service-playing skills.

As you continue learning hymns:

• Always aim to be polishing at least one hymn at a time

• Strive to carefully mark fingering and pedaling

• Strive for clean independence of line

• Practice executing thoughtful phrasing

• Experiment with registration plans

• Gradually increase tempo while maintaining control

• Simplify difficult passages when necessary

• Revisit previously learned hymns over time

The more hymns you learn in polished mode with clean independence of line, the more confident and fluent you will become as a church organist.

Confidence develops gradually through preparation, experience, and consistent service.

You do not need to wait until you feel “perfect” before serving. Growth comes by continuing to play, learn, and improve over time.

As you continue developing:

• • Focus on consistency, diligence, and steady progress rather than perfection

  • Learn from mistakes

  • Introduce new skills gradually

  • Simplify when necessary

  • Prepare carefully and thoughtfully

  • Trust the progress that comes through steady, consistent effort

Many experienced organists developed their confidence slowly over years of methodical practice and faithful service. Consistent preparation and experience will gradually strengthen both your musical ability and your confidence at the organ.

As your foundational skills become more secure, you may wish to continue developing additional skills to increase your effectiveness as a church organist.

Possible areas for future growth include:

• • Sight transposition

  • Choir accompaniment

  • Solo repertoire

  • Accompanying instrumentalists or vocalists

  • Music theory

  • Improvisation

  • Modulation

These are not requirements for effective service, but they can greatly expand your versatility and confidence as an organist over time.

Organists should become familiar with different brands and models of organs. Being able to navigate and understand the features of various organs easily increases your versatility as an organist in any given situation. It is also essential to be familiar with different brands of organs when making choices about organ installations, especially in church buildings. To learn more about the most common brands and models of digital organs used in the church, visit the "Church Organ Models" page.

The purpose of the organ in worship services is to support the worship experience and to invite the Spirit through sacred music.

All of the skills taught in this course—including technique, registration, tempo, phrasing, and preparation—are tools that help you fulfill that purpose more effectively.

As you continue serving:

• • Always strive to encourage enthusiastic congregational singing

  • Prepare carefully so you can serve with confidence

  • Use your musical skills to invite reverence and worship

  • Remember that sacred music has extraordinary power to strengthen faith and testify of Jesus Christ

“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” Careful preparation will allow you to serve with greater confidence and freedom.